Seaway - Vacation

Every genre of music has a few bands or artists that are hugely underrated. Always releasing solid and hard hitting material, but just never really making the same kind of waves as other bands in their genre. As far as pop punk is concerned, one of those bands is Seaway. Armed with a back catalogue of bangers, strong albums and EP's under their belt, they are often over looked and don't seem to get the same recognition as bands such as Brit pop punk heroes Neck Deep or New York giants State Champs. However, their new album Vacation may just change that. They've gone on vacation somewhere with a beach. And that beach has a LOT of waves.

On the run up to the release of this album, Seaway released a couple of tracks to give us a taster of what was coming. The first of these songs was album opener "Apartment", and what a song to start with. A bold statement, completely laying out what they're doing with this album. A nice big slice of pop punk gold, boasting an enormous chorus with an immediately memorable melody and vocal hook. The second song they released was "Something Wonderful", a more pop tinged track; noticeably more uptempo but boasting a really catchy vocal line. The bouncy feel is infectious, and would without doubt command a room full of pizza lovers to raise their slices in the air and get energetic. On listening to the rest of the album, tracks like "London", "Misery In You" and "Car Seat Magazine" all stand out as hard hitting anthems, all boasting pop punks trademark big guitar driven choruses married with hook laden vocals. Others such as "Lula On The Beach" and "40 Over" provide a slightly softer vibe, the latter displaying a real emotional side to the band, gliding through a horde of heartfelt lyrics and swelling guitars executed with precision and real passion. There was also a nice surprise on "Scatter My Ashes Along The Coast Or Don't" in the form of an absolutely stellar guest vocal performance from Caleb Shomo of Beartooth. Already being a very upbeat and bouncy track, the introduction of Caleb's vocals was immediately recognisable and really fitted with the feel, complimenting the track and really making it stand out as one of the highlights of the album. From beginning to end, there isn't one bad moment. This could be the album that really puts them in their own league.

This album is without doubt their most accomplished work to date. It's polished, clean, pristine. The songs all gel together really well. The flow and pace of the album feels smooth, no confusing surprises or loss of momentum. From start to finish, it's very well crafted. The vocals really stand out for me, demonstrating a well balanced mix of both clean and pitched rougher vocals, really driving some of the more heartfelt and powerful lyrics home. All in all, I'm very impressed by this record. This is a vacation that I would go on more than once. This will be on repeat for quite some time, I reckon. Say hello to your new favourite pop punk band.

D.S

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What I've Been Listening To - August 2017

This month has been a solid month for music. Some really strong releases from some bands I love, and I've rediscovered some absolute gems whilst me and the boys were on tour. We play this game called "The A-Z Game" when we're in the van, where you go through the alphabet naming songs but never duplicating artists or bands. Passes time in the van and also stops us from trying to murder each other (We're all friends really. Apart from Adam, we all think he's a dick. Not really. Or do we.....). The albums below are the ones that have stuck out for me the most over the course of the month.

Neck Deep - The Peace And The Panic

Possibly my favourite album of this genre to have come out so far this year. I've followed these Mancunian pop punk heroes for a number of years now, ever since the Rain In July EP. The absolute balls to the wall punchiness about them is what made them stand out for me. Compared to all the other pop punk around at the time, they stood out and started to carve their route to the top of the game very much on their own. If you listen to their back catalogue in order, you can hear the progression and development of their sound creeping in with every single record. And they have absolutely found it with The Peace And The Panic. Without a doubt, this is their most polished record, seamlessly weaving from the punchy, anthemic choruses of single Happy Judgement Day to the stripped back, emotive heartbreakers like Wish You Were Here with absolute ease. I was also excited to hear Don't Wait when I saw that Sam Carter of Architects had done guest vocals on it, and my God it's good. I wasn't sure how it would come across, but Sam is nothing short of perfect and his vocal sits on the track like icing on a cake. Only the icing is cheese and the cake is a pizza. If you're a fan of the genre and haven't given Neck Deep a spin yet, start with this album and work your way backwards. You will fall in love with this record.

Wage War - Deadweight

Good Lord. What. An. Album. Tinged with Nu-Metal stylings throughout but retaining a solid modern metal tone and an absolutely punishing pace, Wage War have smashed it out of the park with Deadweight. If I had to describe it in one word, that word would be HEAVY. And that word covers every aspect of the album. Firstly, I want to mention the production, which is one of the best I've ever heard. You can literally hear every single instrument. It is so unbelievably weighty, but you can hear everything breathing, and it completely adds to the impact. Secondly, the songs. Two Years and Southbound are perfect album starters, setting the tone for how the rest of the record is going to progress, effortlessly combining crushing riffs and soaring melodies, a taste of what's to come. Tracks like Deadweight and Disdain have an almost Slipknot punch to them (which is absolutely NOT an issue), whilst tracks like Witness and Gravity provide a sense of calm amongst all the chaos. This record literally has everything. Like metal? Don't ignore Wage War.

The Gospel Youth - Always Lose

This is the first album I checked out by these guys, but I'd been hearing good things so my expectations were pretty high. This album has become one of my most regularly listened to since its release in July. Hailing from the South Coast of the UK, The Gospel Youth have made their debut very hard to ignore. Right from the off, I Will Deliver You To The Fireflies is a beautiful, heartbreaking start, and perfectly sets up the rest of the album. The dynamics are on point, rising and falling in all the right places, really keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout (unless you're stood up when you listen. Edge of the curb maybe?), and you continue to do so with everything that follows. Gin And Black Coffee has some really smart songwriting and intricate melodies, almost Disney-esque in places, both vocally and instrumentally. Songs like single Moods Like English Weather really pulse and breathe, constantly changing pace and exploding with a huge chorus. The album as a whole really reminds me of Fools and Worthless Liars era Deaf Havana, but with a slightly softer and less harsh tone throughout. If you love that album (I certainly do, it's my favourite Deaf Havana album), then this might become your new favourite album.

Reuben - Racecar Is Racecar Backwards

I remember when I first discovered this album. I bought an issue of Rock Sound, and this particular issue came with a compilation CD. I don't remember what it was called, but it was blue, and the first track was No One Wins The War. And thus, my love affair with Reuben began. I still think they're one of the most underrated bands of their time, and this album is still one of the most underrated albums in existence. It's in my top 10 albums of all time. Without a doubt. The album showcases so many different sides of the band, but without straying so far away that songs sound out of place. Blending absolute radio anthems like singles Freddy Kreuger and Moving To Blackwater with heavier hard hitters like Our Song and Missing Fingers, whilst also slotting in slower soothers such as Song For Saturday and the album closer Dusk. They are the post hardcore band that didn't get enough attention. In my opinion, there's no one like them, they're so unique, and this was the album that started it all. They split up a number of years ago after releasing their 3rd album In Nothing We Trust, and their loyal following has been dreaming of a reunion. I am a part of that. If you've never checked them out before and you like bands such as Alexisonfire, Poison The Well, Taking Back Sunday and The Bled, give them a go. You won't regret it.




I'll do another one of these next month. If anyone has any music they'd recommend, let me know, I'm always open to give anything a go. Literally anything. My iTunes has everything from Drake to Dying Fetus.

Thanks for reading!

D.S
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How To Step Up Your Bands Live Set In One Very, Very Long Day

I had a very productive day yesterday. VERY productive. Also a very long day, where I was out of the house for about 15 hours, but it was fully worth it. I nearly had the most recent Game Of Thrones episode spoiled for me, I spilt some tea on my leg and briefly locked myself inside a toilet, but these are merely tiny imprints on an otherwise smooth day. Mainly because a large chunk of the day was spent making the Skies In Motion set more professional.

I woke up at 9am, feeling fresh (ish, not a morning person), had a bowl of fruit and fibre and a cuppa, and headed over to the Heroic Audio headquarters. Heroic Audio is an audio production and recording company ran by a very good friend of mine, Ben Gaines. An aural wizard, idea generator, ginger viking and also the brother of my drummer, Sam. He recorded our album (did I mention we're releasing an album that's OUT NEXT FRIDAY ON SEPTEMBER 1ST), gave us a TON of good advice throughout the recording process and made it sound better than we could have ever imagined. We frustrated him so much throughout the process by being difficult and picky and very hard to work with at times, and he has openly admitted he hates us on numerous occasions, but he is still willing to work with us which is good of him. I mean he loves us really, if he really hated us we'd all be chopped up and thrown in bins across Derby right now. Anyway, I digress. I went to visit Ben to create a bunch of interludes to integrate into our live set. And for good reason.

Every time I go to watch a band, I'd say 8 or 9 times out of 10 that band has a backing track of some form leading in or out of songs. Often both. This is generally done in a couple of ways. The band, or at very least the drummer, will be playing along to click track that will be triggered at the very beginning of their set. A backing track will be running in the background, and the band follow the click track to make sure what they're playing is completely in time with the backing, which sounds SUPER tight. Or, one of the band will trigger pre made intros and outros as a way of leading us in and out of songs, which if done right and crafted properly, sounds so slick and polished. The latter is what we'll be doing. We currently don't do this. We used to, and our set was so so polished, and we used to get complimented on our professionalism so often. Now, I'm not saying we don't now, as we still get good feedback and comments on our shows, but I think if we re-introduced this element, we could really become a force to be reckoned with. So there I was. Re-introducing.

We've been playing the same set for the last couple of years, with the addition of one or two songs here and there. It is time for change. Not just to make things more exciting for the people watching us, but to breathe a bit of life back into the set for us. So we started. The song we started the set with is no longer in the set at all. I wanted to completely changed everything. I do not want to spoil it, but our set is starting with something really cool. It has impact, it's memorable, and most importantly, it's nostalgic. I won't say any more about it. You just gotta trust me it's cool. Then the fun started. A few of the intros required a small amount of composing to be done. Tiny compositions to lead us into songs in the set. Ben has more sounds in his recording software than you've probably come across in life, and knows the library like the back of his hand. We spent hours writing, crafting, scrapping, reshuffling, adding, taking away, drinking tea, talking about Game Of Thrones and telling him to shut up because I haven't seen the newest episode yet, more writing and crafting. And at the end of the day, we had everything we needed for a new set. Everything I had envisioned for our set to make it more professional. We nailed it out in about 8 hours. Perfect timing too, as we had a band practice almost straight after, so I had my opportunity to pitch the new set and the interludes to the rest of the band.

I had no idea if they'd like the changes or not. We are all very different people and in turn that makes us all individually very difficult to predict and read. Legit they might have said "Yo Dave are you high, this set is awful and those interludes sound like an aural version of a dirty nappy". But luckily for me, everybody was on board. Completely on board. We played through the set with the interludes, and it felt like it flowed better than what we'd been playing until now. I think we all agreed, we were all on the same page. Mission accomplished. Now, to test it out at a show.

We'll be debuting our new set at Macmillan Festival in Nottingham on September 2nd. A great day of music for an even greater cause. There's so many good acts playing all day, so much variety. We've been a part of this festival in the past, and regardless of whether we've been on the bill or not, we've always been in attendance. This will double up as our album release show, so it's gonna be a good one. Come and party with us. To grab a ticket, click here.

See you in the pit. Well, I won't I'll be on stage, but I'll be able to see you in the pit.

Actually, thinking about it, I won't be wearing my glasses on stage, so I probably won't know if you're in the pit at all. I might not even know you're there.

See you at some point during the festival.

Thank you for reading. I'm gonna go and listen to the new Neck Deep album and do adult things like washing and cleaning.

D.S

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